The Four Guardians: The Encounter
by TsuTheMAd
Summary: The threat to release a higher evil more destructive than the Lord of Death. Fearing that Midgard will plunge into darkness and fearing that a close one would be forced to embrace darkness.
1. The First Summons

My first ro fanfic, not really a good writer but if u could recommend me some really good writers here, I'll be sure to lookup and get a feel on how they write things. I played in pRO and trinity private server . The characters involved in this story ranged from a variety of classes as I see each of them do have good and bad points. Although seeing a perverted priest is a common thing to find in most fanfics; So read on, give this chapter a chance and I hope you won't get bored before the funny and climatic parts start.

**Prontera, capital city of Midgard. **

The main square bustled with daily activity; youngsters playing with Novices, Merchants selling goods, adventurers walking in and out of the main streets. The Prontera soldiers are always there to keep a look out on skill spammers, vulgar abusing individuals and conmen pretending to be representatives of the government.

Inside the Item Shop, Anna had just bought some items one of the adventurers had came to sell. Well, _some_ may not be appropriate for a blacksmith who spends nights and days killing Nightmares and Whisper ghosts. And he was covered in dried blood, over powering sweat and decayed bodies. The shop was empty since his arrival.

"Here's your money, Harun." Anna said in between covered nose.

"Much appreciated, Anna." He grinned with his smoking pipe clinging onto the edge of his lip.

His sunglasses were a little cracked and caked in dried mud. So was his majestic goat that propped well onto his long dark red hair. His cart, the highest level one could attained, needed cleaning too. The smith lifted his cart and proceeded to leave.

"Take a bath before u come here, Harun." Anna made a face.

Harun paused and laughed.

"I'll remember that." He said before he stepped out, remembering that was the same thing he said the last time.

_

* * *

Somewhere south of prontera. _

"Xuan! _pronounced as shuen _Wait up! You walk too fast!" Although the female priest was able to keep up with her male counterpart, she just can't maneuver in a crowded street as well as her friend.

"Hurry up Leena!" He shook his head as she finally caught up and continued walking.

Xuan, with his wild white hair and silver eyes, was sometimes mistaken for an assassin member because he _can_ be really cold sometimes. The shimmering in his irises confirmed the fact that they could not be mistaken for grey orbs. He looked old with his mini glasses and the biretta but the young priest just reached adulthood.

Leena on the other hand was a total opposite of Xuan. If Xuan was winter then she would be spring. Her two pony tailed hair was a stark bright green, she had dyed them because the color look so bright and fresh. Her eyes were the clearest of ocean blue and the twin red ribbons, along with the tail ribbons that she adorned gave a contrasting color to her fair skin. _Which Xuan had always said she looked pale as ghost._

The surrounding air suddenly changed as theyentered the main square.

_Behind!_ Both priests thought in alarm.

They quickly leapt in opposite directions as a large boulder dropped to where they once stood. Luckily those around them had either fled or were inches away from it. Xuan landed on the sidewalk, a couple of merchants huddled fearfully behind him. Another boulder flew in his direction, this time, his barrier spell took the impact and was pushed back a few centimeters. Xuan turned and was glad the merchants are safe.

Leena, stood hidden in the alley and helping the injured escape. An earth shattering roar brought to their attention and there stood, a three headed dragon and the four elemental dragons that surround it. Behind them, a gigantic wolf, borned out of ice, casted a Stormgust spell on the ground. The other more experienced fighters fought on while the Kafra employees are doing their best in teleporting out the unconscious victims.

A thief suddenly rushed past Xuan, much to his horror, and dashed straight towards the dragons. His face was covered by those flu masks and purple shades, the sakkat partially covered his blonde hair. He was within metres away from the dragon when he was suddenly grabbed by the collar and zoomed into one of the alleys.

"Let go of me, old man!" He struggled.

The priest had unimaginable strength to be able to run at such speed and still carrying a thief in one hand. The white haired priest shot him a glare, the man did not look old at all.

"Like hell I will!" Xuan retort.

Suddenly he stopped, the pathway blocked by a mob of ancient mummies. It could mean Osiris was around, leader of those ancient mummies or it could just mean someone lured every single ancient mummy to one spot and decided to see what happens next. He hoped for the latter, there's no way he could handle an Osiris by himself.

Slash! Slash!

The thief, that had managed to escape Xuan's grasp, was slicing and dicing monsters too high for someone of his ability. Yet, he effortlessly dodged the mummies' attack with ease and was able to avert even their spells. Xuan clenched his fist, things had to be done.

The thief suddenly realized he got stronger and faster. The blue shimmering light in his body threw the direction to the priest.

"I don't need your buffs old man!" The thief shouted, two mummies attacked from behind but the barrier spell blocked it.

"Just shut up and fight!" Xuan shouted back as he used his healing powers to attack the undead.

"Stop ordering me around!"

"You ungrateful little brat!" Icy daggers shot at each other.

"Picking a fight, _Reverand_!" as if a priest could defeat him.


	2. Harun the Paladin and Blacksmith

**Author: **I have somewhat edited chapter two ; Currently I'm juggling at different styles of writing that I picked up while reading other fanfics. Thousand apologies to those reading and suddenly were disoriented by the style. Torrents of snow blast the area just as they were about to lock fists. Then something huge impacted just next to them that both fell on their bums. Smoke and debris enveloped the area along with the snow and the sudden gust of winds.

_

* * *

"What in Valkyrie's name?"_ Xuan swore he almost peed in his pants. 

As the dust cleared, Xuan could make out the outline of a man crouching where the impact was. There was the smell of dragon blood that started to spread. He heard the thief screamed and manage to see something that the thief was holding. It was a decapitated three head dragon…The figure got up and grinned when he saw Xuan.

"Cap…Cap…Captain?" Xuan cried out.

"Long time no see," Harun grinned even further, "Commander."

"What is wrong?" a feminine voice teased from the roof, "Did we scare you? I'm sorry. _Truly_."

The high wizard landed deftly on the ground next to the priest. Her eyes then turned to the thief; mischievous glint in her light blue eyes as she crouched towards him.

"Hi cutie, I'm Suke. Wanna be my friend?" She winked at him.

The thief was either frozen by the bleeding dragon head in his hand or he was bewitched by the high wizard's charm. Either way, the silence stretched until Leena appeared. The monsters that had suddenly appeared were now being taken cared of, the injured had been tended to and property damage was surprisingly minimal.

"Well I'll be damned…" Xuan muttered as he got up and brush off the dirt on his uniform.

"Thank goodness everything is settled." Suke said. "I just hate intense battles."

"It's been very frequent nowadays…" a worried Leena added in. "The sudden summons of monsters in towns is causing panic to the townsfolk."

"I saw him." A voice spoke. All eyes turned to the thief. "The summoner. I saw the man who summoned the monsters."

If there were any strong emotions that linked to the thief's discovery, it was hidden well beneath his mask, glasses and sakkat. The thief got up, kept his dagger and walked to the exit of the alley. There, with his back facing the others, he half turned.

"He is a high wizard, adorned in blood red cape and equally insane blood red eyes. His thirst to relive the resurrection is far more greater than any evil could comprehend. His name is Za'an…"

"His thirst to relive the resurrection?" Leena queried, "What…"

He vanished. In front of everyone he had just disappeared.

'_The Resurrection….'_ The words echoed in Harun's mind. _'It was a period that stretched 12 weeks. Everything was in chaos, there was famine, bloodlust, dishonesty….The governments were corrupted back then…People died so easily …'_

'_Paladin…..' _someone entered his thoughts….

Harun spun around. There was no one else but him and his guildmates.

'_Paladin….'_ The person spoke again.

"Harun is there anything wrong?" Leena asked.

"Nothing." He said, "Let's meet up at the inn, dinner. My treat."

"Free meal!" Xuan exclaimed in delight, "Let's go babes!"

Leena could have thrown a shoe at the pervert. Then again she was wearing high heeled shoes made out of crystal stones. And it was enchanted with the souls of Matyr. Despite being friends even before they entered Novice, Xuan can really drive her nerves up the wall.

Suke was lucky, Xuan wouldn't dare do anything funny to her unless he wanted to face the Asura Strike inflicted by her hubby. The priest would cry for days because of the injuries.

Harun watched silently as they were too absorbed in their conversations as they walked away. Turning to the silent streets, he waited. The atmosphere had calmed, short gusts of wind would passed through the tiny streets causing some of the debris to swirl. Life was returning back to normal, the main square was starting to bustle with life again. He stared at one of the walls that led to another alley. The building's shadows cast an eerie angle to it.

"What is it you want?" Harun said.

A sage finally materialized.

"Come with me, paladin." She beckon, "I will show you."

He followed her into the dark alley, her black eyes turned to face him.

"Do you remember, paladin?" her voice echoed like a pixie's whisper, "The Lord of Death's reign?"

* * *

"_Captain! We're losing ranks!"_

_The ground cracked and trembled as the skies turned vermillion and a pillar of electrifying light pierced on the army. Evil laughter drowned out the torrents of painful screams as the soldiers breathed their last._

"_Hold your ground, men!" Harun's voice boomed, "Let the others take up positions! We're almost done!"_

_The legion, had been battling with the Lord of Death for ten days, driving it to Glast Heim where they intend to trap him within the confinements of the St Abbey church. Priests, Snipers, High Wizards, Lord Knights and Paladins…..many were sacrificed during the ten days of battle._

"_Devotion!"_

"_Get Ready!"_

_Priests and Sages took up positions as they prepared the final spell to bind the entrance of the St Abbey. Harun summoned his energy and stabbed the Lord of Death with his spear. All other paladins did so as well; the monster was driven far back into the holy church. The front line army rushed in to wear the monster down._

"_Begin!"_

_The floor had glowed an unearthly light; shots of electricity flashed around the monster. The monster gave one swipe and half of the surviving army were smashed to the walls. Harun gave the order of retreat, the spells had been bind and their mission is complete for what it's worth. They ran as fast as they could, yet those who barely had any energy left, just gave up and stayed behind to hold the monster off. Harun wanted to do just that, but his role as a Captain was not over._

_He ran with the others to the exit. He left 20 men behind so that they could hold off the monster and let the other 30 escaped. He had barely reached the doorway when the monster's nails slashed his back. Four elongated gash stretched from his left shoulder to his lower right side. But he didn't stopped running. He continued on, until he exited the church when he was bathed with warm sun light and he reached the old fountain. _

"_CURSE YOU PALADIN!" the Lord of Death bellowed, his voice rang out of the church, "BY THE WOUNDS U CARRY, A CURSE SHALL FALL ON YOU!"_

"_Arghhhhh!" The wounds on his back became searing hot. The priests tried to heal and recover his wounds but to no avail. Smoke appeared from the wounds as his skin and muscles boiled and forming a purplish pus._

"_THIS TIME MANKIND SHALL HAVE THEIR SHORT-LIVED REIGN!" the Lord of Death declared, "BUT TIME WILL COME AND GO AND SOON, I WILL BE RELEASED ONCE AGAIN TO RULE! I WILL BRING FORTH MY ARMY OF DARKNESS AND YOU WILL LEAD THEM TO GLORY! YOU WILL BE THE COMMANDER AND YOU WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING THAT I DEMAND U TO! BECAUSE YOU WILL OBEY MY EVERY COMMANDS!"_

"_Never!" Harun roared, "NEVER!"_

* * *

"Someone is trying to resurrect that monster again," Harun said, "Za'an isn't he?" 

The sage nodded.

"But Za'an not only intends to resurrect the Lord of Death," she spoke, "He intends to use the powers of Lord of Death to released a higher evil."

"Higher…evil?" Harun's eyes grew wide. Back in those days, the Lord of Death was the strongest.

"They slumber in the Tower of Thanatos and Odin's Temple and I am afraid…even few of the valkyries had chosen this path as well…The Lord of Death is, merely, but a key to open the cells that holds these prisoners."

_Bloodshed…_

"There is but a shred of hope I can offer to prevent the apocalypse. They will come together to aid you, each a specialty in their own. They come from the four points of this world. Twilight, Fury, Rose and Snow. Their names will go by these four. These guardians will be your shield as u fight to stop the end. And they will be the blade…

…that you will die by…

…should you turned evil…"

* * *

"Harun?" a voice called out. 

"Hey, Captain you okay?" it was Xuan.

Harun opened his eyes. He had been in the same spot when he first heard the voice in his head. Xuan, Suke and Leena were looking at him with worried faces.

"When we realized that you weren't with us, we went back to the alley to look for you." Suke said,"That's when I noticed your body was missing the soul and got really worried."

"Didn't mean to get you guys worried," Harun said as he got up, "Let's get some dinner. There's a lot I have to tell you guys."


	3. The Blind Creator, Young LordKnight

**Author:**Ah…uploaded a new chapter finally. First of; you will not find any of these character names in pRO or trinity server for that matter. _I dun really like the idea of being stalked just bcos I haven't uploaded a new chapter _. Second, I never really used the actual name of some of the skill castings cos it takes the fun out of finding out what the real skills are actually being used. Third, I will try my utmost not to write so much like anime things like _sweatdrops, anger veins _or the like.

Now, enjoy :D

* * *

At the guild leader's orders, the members under Harun are to resume their normal peace keeping duties until the arrival of the Guardians. The sudden release of monsters had been minor; Wraiths, High Orcs, Goblins, nothing powerful and even some of the adventurers took the opportunity to battle head on just to improve their fighting skills. 

Two years later, Harun and his guild members found themselves in a secluded part of the Mt.Mjolnir forests investigating a rising increase of deadbranch abuse. Apparently, some youngsters took delight in summoning a large number of monsters by breaking a hundred deadbranches.

"Ah for crying out loud!" Xuan whined as he got rid of ten zombies. "They should really raise the prices of those dead branches!"

Xuan quickly swung his bible behind him and killed an orc that had tried to attack him from behind. The blade had cut deep into the orc's neck; dissecting the arteries and muscles. Only Xuan would fit blades onto the edges of his holy bible as he can enchant two souls into it. The swordmace, however, could only be enchanted with one, which wasn't satisfactory to a battlepriest.

"Never," Xuan smirked as he turned behind and looked at the other orcs that stared at him cautiously, "attack a high priest from behind."

"GGGYYYYYAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" came a scream as a dark hair, champion-classed, appeared and ran towards Xuan.

"Adrian wha…" Xuan's sentence stopped when he saw a group of shinobi monsters chasing after the champion.

"SHIT!" His sprint followed and Adrian's dash just managed to caught up with him.

"Why can't you just teleport, you damn monk!"

"Because I just used my AsuraStrike!"

'_Figures..'_ Xuan felt his own despair as they ran into the forest, the monsters still hot on their heels, '_Well, can't leave him like that can't I…'_ Evil thoughts contemplating, nonetheless.

Both ducked as a blade swooped down; missing them by a hair's breadth.

"Damn it!"

"Basilica, Xuan! Basilica!"

"Do I _look_ like I have a freaking Basilica spell ! "

"You don't have a god damn _sign_ that says you can't cast basilica!"

"Shut up!" Xuan saw a figure at a clearing.

"Suke!"

"Honey!" Adrian cried out in tearful joy.

Suke saw the two running in her direction and the unbelievably large number of monsters that followed. Her face paled.

"Cast Stormgust Suke! Hurry!"

"Yes sweetheart! Cast…"

_poof._

"DAMN YOU SUKE!"

"GYAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

They entered another forest; twigs and leaves cracked and crumbled as they hastily jumped over fallen trees and low lying branches. Xuan made a quick glance behind him; the shinobi creatures were nowhere to be found but he knew they were in hiding, seven orcs were still hot on their heels.

'_Damn it! What the hell am I supposed to do now!'_

"Everyone ducked!" a female voice rang out of nowhere.

Both quickly sank to the ground as a large shadow went overhead them. Xuan caught a glimpse of pecopeco feet as the stranger swung her crescent scythe. A loud crack rang through the forest as the blade made contact against the thick skin of the orcs. Muscles, bones and tissue made a sickening tear as the blade was forced deeper to the orcs. Two more sweeping slash and the orcs fell dead.

"Are you alright?" The question aimed at Xuan and Adrian.

"Yes, thank you." Xuan helped Adrian on his feet.'_A little girl? She looked no more than 16!'_

Her armored pecopeco squawked.

No.

A _grandpeco_.

'_A Lord Knight?'_ Xuan realized. _'At such a young age?'_

"Moi, move." A figure appeared and threw a bottle in her direction.

Moi instantly dodged and the bottle broke as it impacted the shinobi's head. It's skin suddenly boiled furiously and black fluid ooze out. The head exploded. The creator-classed whipped out more of those bottles.

'_Eeeww…'_ Xuan cringed, _'Effective but eeewww….'_

More shinobis appeared; Moi took on a fighting stance.

"We'll just…sit back and watch the show, _eh_." Xuan said as he cast a myriad of blessing spells to aid the two.

"Thank you." The creator bowed slightly, he had a soft airy voice and Xuan wondered if he was as young as the lordknight. The dimly lit area didn't helped him one bit.

It took merely 15 minutes, and the mob was wiped out.

"My apologies," the creator said, "My name is Yuki, I should have introduced myself earlier."

"Apology accepted," Xuan didn't bother being humble, "Call me Xuan, that's Adrian."

Adrian laughed uneasily.

"Let's get back to the pathway," Xuan motioned, "I don't really like being stuck in this deep forest for long."

They walked out of the forest and entered a wide clearing; a dirt pathway led to the mountains on one end and another towards the city. Harun had told them to meet up at dusk near the entrance to the west of Prontera gate. Xuan looked at the sky; the sun was yet to set, a falcon flew past. He turned to Yuki and Moi to inquire about their destination when he stopped short.

The whole time they were walking, Xuan did not noticed that Yuki was blindfolded. Mostly because Adrian and himself were walking at the front and Moi and Yuki walked behind. Beneath the loose white hat, Yuki had silver hair just like Xuan, the jawline and skin texture however indicate the man was in his 30's though he still looked strong and able. There were old wounds that peeked out of the blindfolds. Come to think of it; Xuan was able to see the structure of a person's face even after being wrapped in cloth. Yuki's upper face…looked wrong somehow.

"Yes, Xuan?" Yuki inquired.

"Eh?" Xuan broke off.

"Oh," Xuan laughed, "Adrian and I were supposed to meet our Captain later on at the west gate. So I was wondering where you two need to go."

"Ah come to think of it," Yuki turned to Moi, "We do feel a little bored besides our earlier adventure…"

'_Adventure…'_ Xuan thought back in despair.

"If it's not too troublesome," Yuki continued, "May we accompany you while waiting for your Captain?"

"That shouldn't be a problem I guess," Adrian scratched his head.

"Really?" Moi's pink eyes sparkled.

Another odd one. Xuan remembered Leena when he saw the twin ribbons that was pinned on both sides of Moi's head. Xuan merely mumbled a consent and ignore the lordknight's excited glee. Really. An odd one.

They waited for a few hours at the west gate; most of the time talking about their hometown, their friends, the monsters that were mysteriously summoned in towns. The summoning hadgrew lessand fortunately there were many experienced fighters that were able to hold off. Due to that, lives of innocents were spared and injury was minimal.

"Oh they're here." Moi sat up, then cried out excitedly, "Rose is here too! Hey!"

'_Rose?'_ Xuan and Adrian thought.

"Yo!" Harun called out to the two.

Behind him followed another whitesmith, she wore the same headgear as Harun. Her brown eyes lit up when she saw Moi and waved back at the ecstatic lord knight. Rose sported short brown hair that lengthens at the front. Her tanned lean body somewhat made Rose and Harun looked like siblings. Behind Rose, walked Suke.

"Adrian darling, I am so sorry!" Suke ran forward; looking all teary and guilt-ridden.

'_Why you…'_ Xuan was about to bark at her.

"Oh Suke, sweetheart!" Adrian rushed forward and locked her in a tight embrace.

'_Traitor…'_ Xuan thought bitterly.

Ignoring the married couple's conversations, Xuan turned to Harun and introduced Yuki and Moi. Harun took a moment to pause before he shook hands.

"Well, well," Harun grinned, "The Four Guardians really did came to look for me."

"Eh?" Everyone paused.

"I had wanted to come look for you much earlier," Yuki said, "But I realized it would be better if I gathered the other guardians first before setting out. Who would have thought Moi and I would chanced upon Xuan and Adrian while we were on our way to Prontera."

"My real spelling for my name is _M..o..u..i_," Moi said sheepishly, "But anyways, just called me Moi."

"Well, where's the other one?" Xuan looked around. "Twilight wasn't it?"

"Oh, Higure needed to take care of something," Rose said, "He'll be back, he already met up with Harun."

"Well, that's nice to know." Xuan said as the group entered the west gate.

The sun had just nicely set.

* * *

**Author...again:** Yay! Another chapter uploaded! Hope you enjoy this one cos' I really liked it too :D Wish me luck, I hope I can upload the next chapter soon 


	4. Rule of Alchemy

**Author: **I'll try make the chapters digestible to anyone reading it. So some descriptions would be missing. Read and Review everyone!

* * *

Night falls not long after; the clear skies gave its stage to the stars though the full moon has yet to make its appearance. Prontera bathed in the yellow glow of the street lights and mild winds occasionally traveled through the streets. Those in the trading business, thanked their fortunes as they would continue their vending throughout the next morning without any rain or snow.

At the Myer's Inn, a humble bard strums a joyous tunes to the tired and weary customers as he entertained them with his witty jokes and light riddles. Tucked in a corner of the inn, away from the noise and laughter, Harun and his group dwell in their own deep conversations over a generous meal of toasted loaf, chicken and gravy with boiled beans. Higure, the last guardian, has yet to make an appearance. Xuan, Adrian, Suke, Moi and Rose had already dig in, obviously, hungry from all the day's work. Yuki and Harun only drank their tea. The inn door creaked open.

"Oh, Leena, there you are." Harun called out to an approaching female high priest, "Come sit with us."

Xuan looked up from his meal as Harun introduced the guardians and went through the usual greetings. Leena went to sit between Rose and Moi and noticed Xuan's stare.

"What's the matter, dear?" one chicken bone hanging from his mouth, "You look like you just put on weight. Ate too much?"

"I am not your _dear._" Leena jeered knowing that Xuan was staring at her thighs again. "And you shouldn't be looking at places if you value your life more."

"Alright sweet cheeks," Xuan grinned despite Leena's glower.

"Xuan has a little ability of being able to _see _something that is wrapped." Suke wave a fork accusingly at him.

"Eh? What a pervert!" Moi glared, suddenly finding herself sinking more to the table.

"Don't worry Moi," Xuan took another loaf, "I can only see _it_ if _it's _wrapped in soft material."

Eyes glared in his direction.

Harun laughed.

"You are a pervert." Rose glowered accusingly at the male high priest.

"Anyways," Yuki smiled, "I believe Higure would still be out late; so perhaps we should discuss about this Za'an? We can always brief the absent ones later."

"The guy's been lying low, he's up to something." Harun declared, "He's been summoning very little monsters in the town areas. Only 30 or 50."

"Then he would just vanish." Leena added.

"What I am most afraid," Suke began, "Is that he's probably waiting for a certain time. A particular year or month or perhaps…the arrival of a certain event."

"The stars don't seem to show any sign of omens in the future." Alyssa scratched her head.

Xuan almost jumped when he heard the high priest voice next to him. The latter had sworn the seat beside him was empty when they were talking about the Za'an thing. Even the others were slightly surprise though Alyssa continued filling her plates with food and mumbling something about just reaching the inn. Harun merely smiled and shrug his shoulders.

Alyssa looked too plain and ordinary with her long black hair and eyes. Her gastronomical stomach somehow didn't suit her plain appearance. She was the most quiet and only spoke when spoken to or if she had something to say. Alyssa had the ability of keeping track of the members of the guild with some sort of psychic link. However, that was her only special ability.

"You are spacing out again." Alyssa mumbled as she finished her last soup and filled another one.

"Eh?" he realized that the others were already talking about what other factors that Za'an could use to release the Lord of Death's chambers.

"Well, it definitely has something to do with time," Harun leaned back as the waitress cleared the plates. "As for place…I can only think of Geffen, Glast Heim and Aldebaran. Leena, could you help check out the church to see if there's anyone they have encountered that is _special_?"

The church was mostly responsible for registering of names of newborns and they are also in charge of education, health and memorial. It would be likely that they would encounter something that is out of the ordinary and since Leena and the bishop are close friends, it would be easier to get more information.

"I'll go to the library at Yuno I guess." Suke mumbled. " They should update their yearly _thingey_ by now."

"Can we join you?" asked Moi. Rose looking eager as well, both were somewhat oblivious what they were getting into.

"Of course!" Suke exclaimed; seeing that she have more _slaves_ to follow other than Adrian.

The Yuno library was no joke; it could take ages rummaging through book after book, folder after folder, ancient records after ancient records. Not to mention the rising increase of new spells, monster data and new towns discovered. Things could might as well piled up.

"I will need to check up on Higure," Yuki scratched his cheek lightly, "He always like to disappear most of the time, but he would usually be back."

"Just like a cat." Moi giggled.

"Ah, yes, Higure is an assassin cross." Yuki chipped in to the others, "Nice fellow once you warm up to him."

"Well, I'm sure you guys have other things to do," Harun got up, followed by the others, "This meeting is dismissed. Investigations, at _my_ order, shall begin tomorrow. Sleep well tonight people, Yuki, I managed to make reservations for two rooms. You're gonna have to share it with Higure while Moi and Rose take the other room."

"A thousand thanks." Yuki bowed lightly with Harun waving it off as he picked up his cart.

"I have to sell these junks off to Anna." Harun grinned, "So you guys don't make trouble while I'm not around."

With that, Rose and Moi clamoured excitedly for their rooms while Adrian and Suke, were more than eager to retire early to bed. Leena managed to drag Alyssa to go shopping at the _market street _when Xuan insisted on tagging along.

The _market street_ earned its reputation, as the main road that leads to the south gate, was always full of people coming and going. The large number of human traffic instigated many traders to set up their business along the sidewalks. Even in the late hours, there would still be people who would flock the _market street_ to find good bargains.

"Hey look at that _noob_ head." Xuan whispered to the two as he gestured at one of the merchants. "He's selling his golden anvil for one million zeny!"

Leena didn't have to be a blacksmith to know the value of a golden anvil. Harun would lecture her, no end, about how different anvils would make better quality weapons. She only shrugged her shoulders and they continue their walk down the street.

"Ah! An evil wing hairband!" Xuan stopped infront of the vender, he peered at the hair band that had dark bat-like wings attached to it. "How much?"

"5 million zeny." The trader spread his fingers.

Xuan looked at it one last time, a look of disappointment on his features, before he placed it back and gave a courteous bow to the trader and joined Leena and Alyssa on their walk.

"5 million my _ass_…" he muttered when they were far enough.

Leena rolled her eyes at his choice of words.

Along the way, Leena noted a couple of daggers that she had never seen before. One was gold and with intricate carvings that could only have come from royalty. Its hilt was embedded with red and green gemstones of unknown origin. The other dagger had a slight pale glow to its snake-like blade. It reeked of darkness yet it was beautiful in its own shadows. Leena turned to Xuan and Alyssa and saw Moi not far behind.

"Oh hello!" Moi exclaimed when she saw them.

"Oh hi, Moi," Xuan looked around, "Where's Rose?"

"Already snoozing." She giggled.

"Aww…too bad." Xuan said.

"I wanted to look for Yuki, but I couldn't find him anywhere." Moi turned halfway before facing the others. "Have you seen him?"

"He is with Harun." Alyssa said, "They had just came out from the shop."

Moi gave a questioning look.

"Alyssa has the ability to link into a person's mind." Leena explained. "This is to make sure everyone is safe even if they are nowhere in sight."

"Oh." Moi thought for a moment, "Is that a priest _thingey_?"

Leena and Xuan shook heads.

"It is," Alyssa paused, "My only special ability."

"Oh cool," Moi beamed.

"Moi, have you done your shopping?" Lenna asked.

The young lordknight pondered; she had wanted to buy that cute pink hat with the red ribbons on it but she had spent all her money buying those blue boxes. It was meant for Rose as the whitesmith was just crazy over opening up surprises. And the guy who sold them to Moi had gave a _huge_ discount, seeing that he had never seen such a young lord knight.

"Ah…" She paused, a slight blush to her cheeks, "I wanted to buy some sweets. It's been a while since I last had some."

'_What! We're not babysitters!' _Xuan thought in disbelief.

"Well I have a sudden craving for some sugar as well." Lena giggled.

'_Eh!'_ Xuan stared at Leena.

"Shall we go and buy?" Leena asked to which, Moi and Alyssa nodded eagerly.

'_I'm hanging out with little girls..'_ he shook his head in disbelief.

* * *

"Isn't that Moi?" Yuki paused.

"She's quite a sociable one isn't she?" Harun commented to which, Yuki laughed softly.

Yuki and Harun walked on the sidewalk opposite to where Xuan and the others are. The duo had just came back from the Weapon Store and were on their way back to the inn. The crowd had decreased as they walked further away from the _market street_. Some of the traders had already begun to pack up as the night hour turned late, occasionally, couples could still be seen lingering in the streets.

"You're quite gifted for a blind guy." Harun stopped to lit his pipe.

Yuki stopped andturned to face him. The statement had been rather direct and out of the blue for that matter and caught the creator off guard. The latter felt Harun's eyes gazing at him.

"Just a comment, _man_," Harun said, "Didn't mean to offend _ya_."

"It was a chemical accident that caused this weird reaction to my eyes." Yuki corrected, "Even though I can't really see like normal people do, but somehow I can _see_ the energy that matter emits. Like an aura, though I still have yet to fully figure out how something like that could work. I resort to wearing this blindfold to help filter out what is far and close to me."

"A chemical accident?" Harun pressed on.

The winds felt colder somehow.

"Yes. A very bad one." Yuki felt his voice grew lower at the memory, "I was an alchemist, back then, with two of my other close friends. We tried to attack a Maya by using Acid Demonstration, a special attack that only creators can use... We thought we could be the first alchemists to actually attempt Acid Demonstration. ..But…that's when things went wrong…"

Yuki sat down and heaved a heavy sigh.

"I was the furthest when _it_ happened." Yuki maintained, "But my two friends…they had their body parts eaten away by the acidic fumes. ..while I only got away with scars…"

"I have heard of the news before," Harun blew out a smoke, "Three alchemist attempted Acid Demonstration and failed. The monster killed two of the alchemists before the third one manage to defeat it. So that was you."

"The monster was already dead." Yuki gingerly touched his blindfold, a nervous reaction that he seemed to developed. "My friends were still alive but the wounds they carry….they can never lead a normal life or treated like one anymore…They had…begged me to let them live…but…I chose to end their fate."

"…"

"In a sense, I am _that_ monster." Yuki held the top of his white hat and craned his neck to the sky. "I felt that I should let you know since we will be working together for a period of time. Hiding my past is not going to make matters any better should enemies try to use this against our objectives."

The cold wind that arrived complimented the void in his heart. Silence filled it and the twilight hours merely welcomed what tragic past he had to say. It was blind pride and rebellion; he wanted to rebel against the classes that were laid before him and jumped ahead to be the best. Oh how foolish he was to never follow the rule of alchemy.

"I do missed the stars," he whispered. "I cannot see them even without the blindfold."

"Ain't nothing special." Harun sat beside him, "Looks like the clouds covered the whole nightsky."

"Ah…" Yuki lowered his head. "A pity…"

* * *

A huge explosion erupted and the violent tremors spread through the _market street_; fireballs rain down amidst the screaming and chaos. People ran haphazardly as they try to avoid the flying debris. Leena, Moi, Alyssa and Xuan struggled not to be swept away by the human traffic. The ground beneath them shook vigourously as more fireballs flew and explode.

"Harun!" Alyssa gasped.

"What happened?" Leena turned to her.

"I.."Alyssa blinked, "I lost his connection..!"

"Shit!" Xuan hissed a spell to himself and instantly maneuvered his way through the crowd.

The earth continued to rumble and quaked as more screams followed under the glowing orange sky. Xuan's ear rang as a loud screech impaled through the air. An old fear crept from the darkest recess of his heart. Only one powerful monster could summon the Meteor Storm.

'_I lost his connection…'_ Alyssa's words stuck a chill to his spine.

No…

It cannot be….

"He will not turn EVIL!" Xuan shouted to himself as he picked up his speed.

* * *

_To be continued_


	5. On the Roof

"This is most unfortunate timing." Yuki muttered as he heaved a large wedge of wood on top of him and let it dropped clumsily to his side.

Yuki took a moment to take in the surroundings; there had been an explosion on the building right behind them, he had felt balls of fire rushed past him and some bouncing off stronger materials. Dust and smoke choked the air and the searing flames hinted that there are flames all around them.

_'Blood...'_ Yuki felt his heart ache as he turned to the direction of the strong odour.

"Harun?" There was no respond.

Yuki touched the lifeless body, his hands traced the blood odour to the head and felt the sticky warm liquid that continue to flow out of Harun's temple. The gash, though not deep, had stretched from Harun's left cheek bone to the back of his skull. Yuki's hands detected a few slight indents and concluded the concussion was the last to knock the whitesmith out. He took out some white potions from his cart and poured them into the wound. The white fluid regenerate new cells on the torn tissue as it grew and closed up the wound. The bleeding had stopped, much to Yuki's relief, though Harun was still unconscious.

"Ah…" Yuki got up, "I sense trouble."

Behind him, shadowy figures moved forward in the flames. Few of them were playfully tossing their bladed weapons in mid-air. Yuki slipped out a few of his fire and acid bottles from underneath his shirt. He heard the sounds of heavy chains being dragged across the floor as the wearer reluctantly walked, forced by hunger for fresh meat. How quaint that the monsters summoned tonight are shadow and undead species.

_"_Retreat Dark ones_…" _the sound of the all too familiar trinkle of a gemstone as it hit the ground which the monsters stood. "_Magnus Exorcismus." _

Yuki felt the burst of white hot energy spreading to the ground, engulfing his own body with its cooling light yet, the howling agony emanated from the monsters told only of their burning bodies as they disintegrate into nothingness. The power of a holy undead spell serves to really clean the earth of the shadowy filth.

"Yuki!" Xuan dashed towards him. "Where is Harun?"

"He is still unconscious." Yuki directed him to where Harun lay, "He had a severe wound head that resulted in a loss of blood but I managed to close up the wound."

"Thank you." Yuki assumed Xuan was deathly worried about his leader by the unquestionable quiet tone.

Xuan placed a blue gemstone on Harun's forehead, noting the pale haggard man. It almost brought about a dejávu though Xuan shoved it back into the dark recesses of his mind. Now was not the time to remember. Focusing on the gemstone, he willed it to flicker a light inside it and then pushed his energy to let it glow bright enough.

"Wake up, Captain." The gemstone dissolved and as it did so, Harun began to stir.

"_Ah_ Shit…" Harun cursed, Xuan helped him up, "What…happen?"

"There was a meteor shower," Yuki said simply, "You lost a lot of blood."

"Meteor..?" Harun almost lost his balance, Xuan uttering him to be more careful. "Is it…"

"Unlikely, maybe just the illusion." Yuki beckon the two to a corner between two houses. "You would have changed by then. It's probably the effect of the Dark Illusion's presence that has contributed to your inability to regenerate your energy back."

Yuki was not someone of rash nature, his past taught him that. Chosen decisions were made after carefully analyzing the current situations, coming up with hypothetical solutions and looking through the number of possible positive outcomes. All that and with the considerations of a human heart, the man lived through the rest of his life with the strict discipline to, _"Think before you act."_

"Yuki…" Harun utter, Xuan tightened his support on the bigger man.

"Rest easy, Harun." Yuki tread ahead, looking out for possible threats. With monsters still roaming about, they had to be discreet in their movements as much as possible.

"Thank you…"Harun whispered before he finally hung his head.

"No." Yuki turned to face the two, a slight smile grace his lips. "Thank you…"

A huge tremor erupted followed by an inhuman cry. The walls ahead of them suddenly explode as a huge Majuros came crashing against the cold hard pavement. Fortunately the barrier spell Xuan had cast on the three of them blocked most of the flying debris. The huge monster lay pale and still, the two deep slash across the chest could only be caused by one powerful attack Xuan knew of. Soul Break, an attack that does little damage to the physical body but deadly to the soul. From the darkened hole in the wall came a hacking cough as a figure, definitely an assassin cross class, walked out and brushed himself of the dust.

"Yuki-sama, I ran out of the yggdrasil seeds again." He said as he fixed his sakkhat, realigned his purple glasses and repositioned his flu mask.

"Ah! Higure!" Yuki ran towards him. "Really, you almost got yourself killed! Lucky we have a priest here."

Higure turned to Xuan who stared at him. The look of annoyance was unmistakable as both recalled the incident when they first met. Higure walked up to him.

"Heal please." He said in a flat tone. "Old Man."

* * *

"Alyssa, Leena," Moi gestured in a quiet whisper, "Over here." 

The trio had found themselves walking along the outer walls that encircled the main square. The streets along the perimeter had been deserted saved for a few stranded monsters which Moi can handle. The lord knight walked further ahead while the two high priests stayed in the rear. The only sound present was the metal clicking on the cold cobble stone streets made by Moi's metal boots.

Leena chanced a glance to Alyssa; the high priest had manage to get into contact with Xuan, much to his annoyance of having his mind intruded, and had asked to gather at the inn. Suke, Adrian and Rose are to remain at the inn in case the monsters appeared there as well. When Leena asked about Harun's condition, Alyssa only nodded and said he only suffered some scratches.

Leena did not asked anymore than that; knowing full well that Alyssa never liked to cause any worry. In most battles that they were involved, Alyssa would always ended up pairing with Harun and though both were hardly seen chatting with each other about trivial things, the two knew when to intrude each other's quiet space. Though it would seemed an odd pairing seeing that Harun was all extroverted and easy-going but push the wrong button and words can sliced deeper than his mighty axe. Alyssa, being an introvert and numb to any teasing or flirts, spoke only what is need to voice out and that always came in handy during life threatening situations. She could not speak for herself about her loyalty, one must simply have faith in her.

That was something Leena had accustomed to, since she got to know Alyssa.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, standing undetected, at the taller roofs of the 3 storey houses, a figure watches the three as they set off for the inn. He had stood on the roof since the monsters wreck havoc on the Prontera streets, the chill winds did nothing to his thick cloak which covered most of him. Only icy breaths escaped his lips as he change his angle and spotted one of the powerful monsters went down in flames. A loud cheer was ensued after that.

"Phreeoni and Maya have been defeated." Said another voice crouched before the standing figure.

"Amazing." The cloaked figure smiled, "I trust that the Prontera _heroes_ are having a good time?"

"They had become stronger with each monster they defeat."

"Well I knew it was a good idea to summon these monsters in the human's home ground."

"…"

"They are starting to enjoy it. At first it was terrifying to find monsters in cities. One would run and hide upon seeing Amon Ra or The Owl Baron. But now, these humans will run forward to fight. To defend their home they would say, protect their loved ones they would say. My…how beautiful those words are and to be said by the humans themselves."

"…"

"I'm almost done." He looked up to the sky, as if speaking to himself, a hand reached upwards. "Just a little more, everyone will love me for this, I tell you."

He tightened his fingers to a fist as he let out a quiet laughter. The crouched figure remained silent, it was not in his nature, nor his duty, to give any of his thoughts that does not benefit the cloaked man. The laughing subside and the cloaked figure covered his face with his hand, feeling the icy fingertips on his warm cheeks.

"Greed and Pride go well together, don't you think?" he said. "But then again humans are always vulnerable to the seven sins."

"…"

"Come now." He beckoned. "Let us depart for Aldebaran for the night."

* * *

To be continued 


End file.
